Deus ex SG1
by Mysterious Em
Summary: While visiting a planet inhabited by peaceful nature-loving aliens, SG-1 picks up some unwanted visitors. Along the way, Daniel and Jack snark at each other. Rated T for mild language and future mild violence. Planned at 10 chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**The only certain freedom is in departure.**

**-Robert Frost-**

General Hammond watched from the observation deck of the gate room as a brilliant swirl of watery blue exploded below and the Stargate Command's star team prepared to disembark on their latest mission.

The room he looked down upon was a dull gray, aside from the swirling blue in the center of the unthinkably large ring that cast waving reflections of light upon the walls around it. The four members of SG-1 stood in front of it, silhouetted by the light of the gate, and the general could imagine what was going through each members' mind, even without being able to hear what they were saying.

Jack, as usual, was highly impatient, evidenced by an overuse of wise-cracks and liberal jabs at the team archeologist, which seemed to only draw snickers out of the surrounding guards that always inhabited the gate room. Daniel, of course, was oblivious to the whole thing. After finding out the planet they were going to be visiting had the usual over-abundance of plant-life, Dr. Fraiser had made certain to prescribe Daniel enough antihistamines to last through the trip, and plenty extra, just in case. He was too busy checking to be absolutely certain that he hadn't forgotten them to notice Jack's not-so-subtle jokes at the expense of the civilian 'geek'.

Teal'c was his stoic self, as always, in spite of Sam's excitement over the latest mineral deposit they hoped to mine from this planet. Many times, the general thought Teal'c understood her better than her team leader, but when she resorted to technical jargon, it was as lost upon him as it would be upon any warrior. Unlike Jack, however, the near silent Jaffa realized that she needed to voice her ideas to somebody, and it didn't much matter if that someone only occasionally raised an eyebrow or answered with a very intelligent, "Indeed."

By the time the gate was locked and ready for transport, the entire team had gone into "professional" mode. They had learned quickly that in this job, you could never know what to expect on the other side of that deceptively calm pool of blue. As they stepped toward the gate they moved as a single smooth unit, their order established without having to say a word.

As they disappeared with a bare ripple through the blue, and the gate disengaged with a final dying flash, the general sighed to himself and said his ritual prayer for the team. "God, just don't let them get killed." After a few moments to be sure that the team wouldn't have to make an emergency return home, the general nodded slightly to himself, and returned to his office, leaving the SGC to go about it's own business. If anyone needed him, they would know where to find him.

* * *

"ACHOO!!" Daniel tried to stifle his sneeze before it began, but he failed miserably. This time, it had only been moments through the gate before the attack had come.

"Daniel…?" Jack's voice had that vaguely annoyed sound that could mean anything from, 'Daniel, please stop baiting the snake who is about to kill us' to 'Daniel, what the hell did you just say?' The archeologist cringed inwardly, cutting his eyes at Jack to see if he was truly annoyed, or just trying to get on his nerves. In the next moment, he decided the colonel was simply trying to irritate him, so he ignored it and reached for a handkerchief.

He was vaguely amused to note that Jack continued to keep his eyes open for possible danger, even as he asked, "What happened to those new, high-powered antihista-thingies...?"

"Guess they aren't as powerful as Janet thought," Daniel remarked, distractedly, as he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped at his nose. After this brief moment, he seemed to recover from whatever irritation had caused the sneeze, and stowed the handkerchief back in his pocket. "Either that or there are more allergens here than she expected..." His comment trailed away in a characteristically distracted fashion, as he started away from the gate.

While Teal'c, Jack, and Sam continued their usual sweep of the area immediately surrounding the gate, Daniel moved forward to explore the same area. The stargate was located in the center of a strange, perfectly circular clearing in the center of a forest that was slightly off-setting. On the one hand, it seemed remarkably like something you would find on earth, but unfamiliar plants, trees, and birds combined to form a vague feeling of "wrongness".

From the steps immediately in front of the stargate, Daniel followed a narrow stone pathway. These stones caught his attention, for each was inscribed with strange, foreign symbols. They seemed to form some sort of language, but it was unlike anything he had ever seen. It seemed vaguely...Celtic in origin, but he couldn't be certain. He sent a quick glance toward Jack, and found that the leader was still sweeping the clearing. Since there seemed to be no trouble at hand, he pulled off his backpack and swiftly pulled out his camera. Leaving his backpack behind, Daniel started up a video, and took careful records of each stone in the pathway.

At the end of the pathway, a large stone had been set up, covered with the same sort of strange symbols. After taking a close-up of this first stone, Daniel panned around the clearing, ignoring the roaming soldiers in favor of focusing on the eight other stones set up around the clearing. Each was about twice his own height, covered in symbols that could be decorative, some sort of language, or even both. Each stone, however, was topped with a much larger, unique symbol that was visible even from the other side of the clearing. "Must mean something..." he muttered to himself, and then turned back to the original stone.

Another glance proved to Daniel that his teammates had finished screening the forest surrounding the clearing, and were impatiently waiting for him to finish his work. "Jack...I'd like to..."

"No."

Daniel blinked, simply staring back at Jack. The soldier's amused, knowing expression simply served to infuriate the scholar, but he retained tight control of his temper, as always. "But you didn't even hear what I was going to..."

"No. You can't stay here and play with the rocks, Daniel. We need to stay together. Wait until Sam finds her..." Jack glanced to Sam, and Daniel knew, from experience, that he was trying to remember just exactly it was that she had been going on about before they stepped through the gate. "...Pretty...rocks. We'll come back if it's safe."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "So Sam's rocks are more important because...?"

Jack looked straight back at Daniel, and in a deadpan, he replied, "Hers can make big honkin' space guns. Let's move it out, kids."

Frustrated, Daniel sent an exasperated look toward Sam, but she simply ducked her head to hide her amused smirk and walked passed Daniel to follow Jack. His next resort was Teal'c...but the silent Jaffa had already disappeared into the forest, taking point.

With a sigh of surrender, Daniel rushed to pick up his backpack, picking carefully through the underbrush to catch up. Before leaving the clearing, he sent a final look toward the rocks he desperately wanted to examine, but then gave in to Jack's order and rushed to catch up while clumsily pulling his backpack onto his shoulders.

* * *

"So. What is it?"

Sam didn't allow her team leader's faux curiosity to distract her. Daniel was still pouting at her side. She felt sure that being forced to deal with an annoyed commanding officer and a pouting archeologist in the same day should be considered cruel and unusual punishment. Instead of saying any of this aloud, however, she simply glanced up and with her patented, 'I'm Carter so I can't possibly be joking' face, she replied, "Could be one of your big honkin' space guns, sir."

"Really?" Col. O'Neill replied, managing to look surprised and hopeful at the same time.

"No, sir."

A long pause ensued, in which Sam watched her commanding officer's expression melt from confusion, to realization, to annoyance, and finally settling upon vague amusement. "No, really, Carter. What is it?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure, sir," she finally said, getting down to business. "It's completely different from any of the technology we have previously encountered."

Sam stepped back to survey the entire object. Nestled half-hidden in the brush, they had found what at first appeared to be a large stone, half the size but very similar to those in the clearing around the Stargate. However, upon closer inspection, Daniel had discovered that this one actually seemed to have moving parts. Several knobs on the front were simple enough, marked with strange symbols that Daniel could not immediately translate. Buttons at random intervals along the side lit up when they were touched. Experimentation proved that they only responded to a warm touch. Otherwise, it didn't appear to have any obvious purpose. There didn't seem to be any access panels to allow examinations of the inner workings of the device. Finally, she threw up her hands in defeat. "Perhaps when Daniel has a chance to work on translating those symbols we'll know more. Frankly, I have no idea what it's for."

"Daniel?" Col. O'Neill directed at the archeologist, who was still involved in poking and prodding at the device.

Daniel glanced up, blinking owlishly as though surprised to be addressed. Thoughtfully, he pushed his glasses back into place on his nose, and explained with a slight shrug, "It looks vaguely familiar, but I would need some reference material to be sure. It might be the same as those in the clearing. I didn't really get a good look at those."

Col. O'Neill pointedly ignored the not-so-subtle jab, and nodded sharply. "Right, then. Make a note of the location, and we'll come back if we have time. Off we go, kids."

This time, Daniel didn't bother trying to complain about the lack of time. He simply remained silent as he packed up his notebooks and pencils, and returned his pack to his back. Sam felt a little sorry for him, but there really wasn't anything she could do. She really didn't know what the device could possibly be used for. For all she knew, it could be decoration.

The report had said that this planet was inhabited by sporadic small clans of nomadic peoples. Perhaps they'd be lucky enough to encounter one. That ought to make up for Daniel's disappointment.

* * *

"No."

"But Jack.."

"No."

"You're not even…"

"No."

"Stop saying…"

"No. Nonono. No. And did I mention? No."

Daniel and Jack faced off at the top of a ridge overlooking a small collection of plain dome-shaped buildings that appeared to be made of the same reddish-gray mud that they had been walking on for the past hour. Jack had his usual nonplussed expression, quite aware that he had the final say in the matter, and firm in his stance against the archeologist. Daniel, by contrast, was steaming, glaring at Jack with his usual determination.

Carter let her pack drop to the ground and used it as an impromptu seat. Once Daniel and the Colonel both decided they weren't going to back down, it could take up to an hour for a compromise to be reached. Sam just hoped that the team leader didn't decide to pull rank on the civilian. If O'Neill continued to do that, one of these days Daniel was going to give up and ask for a reassignment. Carter wasn't sure if her superior knew just how close he'd come already, but she hoped he had at least a bit of sense about the matter.

"Why are you being such a butthead?"

Jack smirked, his arms crossed and chin held high in his 'fearless leader' posture. "Did you just call the ranking officer on this mission a 'butthead'?"

Sam swore silently to herself. This wasn't going to end well.

"I'd call you what you deserve, but I have more class than that. Look, you've kept my hands tied for this entire mission. Why can't you guys do whatever it is you do, while I go talk to the locals? They're farmers, not warriors, and frankly, I think their religion is based on one from Earth that values peace above all. In the worst case scenario, they'll just refuse to talk to me, and I'll be stuck waiting for you until you return. So how about it? I'll go talk to the locals, and you guys go…do whatever it is Sam wants to do with her rocks."

"Daniel?"

"Well, Jack?"

"No."

Daniel looked like he might explode at any moment, as Jack refused Daniel's carefully thought out argument without even considering it. "Were you even listening to me?"

"Actually? No, not really."

It was very rare for Daniel to be struck speechless. Sam considered warning O'Neill that it wasn't a good idea to push Daniel beyond certain limits. She really couldn't understand why he was so determined to disallow everything that Daniel wanted. Usually he at least found something to occupy the civilian on these peaceful missions.

Suddenly, Daniel's look of confounded, open-mouthed shock shifted to one of realization. "You're punishing me."

Jack shifted slightly, and Sam knew that Daniel was on the right track. Silently, she updated the tally in her head… Daniel: 1, Jack: 0.

"What are you talking about?" Jack snapped, looking over Daniel's shoulder at the settlement below. "Just because I don't want you to go alone into the midst of possibly hostile aliens…"

But Daniel had sunk his teeth in and wasn't letting go. He jumped in before Jack could finish, more certain now that when the idea had first struck him. "No, no, no. This is about that incident in the gym the other day, isn't it? Jack, I knew you were thick, but I had no idea you were capable of this sort of pettiness."

The guilt on Jack's face was unmistakable to those who knew him, even if he did fancy himself to be very good at hiding his emotions. It was all Daniel needed to know that he had struck a chord, and with an angry little noise, he picked up his pack. "I'm going down there whether you like it or not, Jack. I'll keep the radio on, so just call me when you're done."

Without looking at Jack, Daniel turned, adjusting his pack so that it would sit easier on his shoulders, and began the search for a path down the ridge to the alien settlement.

Carter cleared her throat a little, and glanced over at Teal'c, while Jack was distracted with fuming. "So…What's happened in the gym the other day?" Due to her gender, she tended to miss out on a lot of the goings on between the boys during their between-mission training sessions.

Teal'c glanced to her from where he stood with stoically crossed arms, but she was certain that she could see the slightest twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Daniel Jackson successfully accomplished the frelshak maneuver on Colonel O'Neill."

Sam blinked, uncertain what Teal'c could mean by that. Before she could ask, Jack interrupted, letting her know that he was still paying attention, even if he was distracted by watching his civilian slowly climbing down the dangerous slope.

"That's Teal'c's way of saying he knocked me on my ass."

* * *

In the end, Jack allowed Daniel to go his own way, though he stood on the ridge a little longer than Sam might have expected. He even pulled out his binoculars to watch the initial meeting and introductions. It wasn't until he saw Daniel conversing with the residents of the settlement on obviously friendly terms that he finally put away the binoculars and instructed them to head out.

In the next several hours, Sam forgot all about the tiff between her fellow team members in the excitement of what she found. It turned out that there were even larger mineral deposits on this planet than she had imagined, and most of them would be incredibly useful to create the weapons they were constantly developing to fight the enemies of Earth. The only problem was that it would involve an extensive mining procedure. This, of course, meant that they had to get permission from the residents of the planet before they could act any further.

Jack had conflicting feelings about this. Sure, he wanted those weapons, but it turned out that Daniel would have had reason to do what he wanted, even if Jack had succeeded in stopping him at the ridge. Sam had to give him credit, though. When she gave him the news, he took it in stride, and before long they were headed back to the settlement to meet up with their wayward archeologist.

* * *

Before dinner, Jack checked in with General Hammond and let him know the state of affairs on the planet. He received permission to stay as long as necessary to procure the necessary agreement from the people of this planet, so Jack left him with a promise to check in the next evening at the same time.

Dinner was not exactly a pleasant affair for the colonel. It took place out of doors in a central clearing of the village. The men sat at a table on one side of the clearing, while the woman congregated around a table at the other end, which meant that Carter was stuck separated from the team by another ridiculous local gender norm.

O'Neill sat in the honored seat directly across from the chief of the settlement, who was seated in the center of the long table. Daniel was seated directly to the chief's left, while Teal'c had taken a seat on Jack's right. The chief seemed determined to smile Jack to death, which necessitated more return smirks than Jack was accustomed to giving.

To make matters worse, these people were purely vegetarians. Jack crunched on his lettuce as a distraction from the smiling chief, but he lacked a certain enthusiasm that most of the diners seemed to have. What he really wanted was a nice rare steak, but it wouldn't be the first time that he compromised what he wanted for the sake of a mission. He was just glad that the food was fresh.

On the bright side, Daniel consistently chatted up the chief of the clan, in an obvious attempt to distract him from Jack's relative sourness. This left Jack free to ponder how to address the subject of a treaty between earth and these nature-loving hippies. As usual, once he had decided on a tactic, he initiated it without any thought to whatever Daniel might have had planned.

"So, Chief…Earl, was it?" Jack said, interrupting a very involved discussion between Daniel and the chief concerning some aspect of their religion.

Daniel cleared his throat, muttering under his breath, "Irl."

Daniel still hadn't figured out that Jack mispronounced things on purpose to annoy him. Or maybe he had, and that just annoyed him more. An interesting prospect for the colonel, who enjoyed irritating Daniel almost more than he enjoyed snake-baiting. "That's what I said. Chief Earl. This is a very nice dinner and everything, but we have come to visit you for a reason."

The chief placed the carrot he had been nibbling back on his plate, leaning back slightly and regarding Jack with a calculated gaze. As far as Jack could tell, there was nothing to distinguish this chief from any of the other aliens present. He wore the same simple garment, made of rough fabric of a slightly off-white color. His head was covered by a kind of turban that seemed to indistinctly remind Jack of the middle east. The sun-weathered and craggy face, however, was what caught Jack's attention. The clear blue eyes of the man held a spark of cleverness that Jack was not about to discount. However, in the end, the chief simply nodded his head, as though bidding Jack to continue.

"Yes. Well…" He glanced toward Carter at the women's table, separated from their own on the other side of the clearing, and silently cursed the culture's morals that dictated no woman should sit down to eat with a man. "It seems that there are some…rocks on your planet that could be very useful to us. We want to trade with you for them."

The chief looked puzzled, and Daniel shot Jack a less than subtle warning glance. Jack knew that look, and just shot Daniel a scornful look of his own. He wasn't an idiot. You don't tell a peaceful people who worship nature that you want to dig up their precious earth to build weapons. He had learned that lesson by now.

"I cannot imagine what you intend to do with them," Chief Irl said, at length. "Of course, we honor Mother Don in all of her incarnations, but I have seen the wonders of which your people are capable. How is it possible that the stones in our fields could be of value to one such as yourself?"

For once, Jack paused to think over his reply before he spoke. Daniel looked on nervously, but for once managed to keep his big mouth shut. "Well," Jack said, slowly, keeping half an eye on Daniel to make sure he wasn't saying anything that would offend. That was the one blessing in Daniel's attitude…Jack could tell he was about to misstep by just watching for signs that Daniel was about to cut in. "You see, there are certain…things in the rocks on your planet which don't exist back home. Of course, we don't expect you to just hand them over. There are many ways we can help you in return. Medicine, technology… For example, we could supply you with a better way to irrigate those fields of yours."

The chief was obviously interested, and Jack felt as though he was making headway until the man finally spoke. "I would love to agree to this, but unfortunately, this is impossible."

Jack bit his tongue to keep from cursing out loud. Somehow, he managed to keep a pleasant expression on his face, but the frustration was boiling under the surface. "And why not?"

"It is not up to me, of course." The chief's eyes seemed to be mocking Jack, and he restrained himself from punching the infuriating man in the face by virtue of toying with a decorative leaf that had been abandoned on his plate.

"Oh?" Jack replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "In that case, who is it up to?"

"It is up to the gods and goddesses."

Jack had heard this before, and it was all he could do to keep from screaming in frustration. He gave a look to Daniel that he knew that archeologist would interpret correctly. Time for the civilian to take over.

Daniel nodded slightly, with his usual sort of flustered absent-mindedness that seemed to ingratiate him to everyone he met. "Chief Irl… If it doesn't offend you to ask, is there any way that we could appease the gods?"

This question caused the chief to grow thoughtful, and it became obvious to Jack that the man was much more likely to be helpful to Daniel. It figured.

"Well, Calan Gaeaf begins at sunrise. You could meet the gods and ask them yourselves."

Daniel's eyebrows shot up, and Jack knew that the archeologist must recognize the term. "Oh! Calan Gaeaf, of course. I think I might be familiar with it. Would it be permissible for us to honor the gods by participating?"

The chief smiled broadly, and Jack knew that Daniel had yet another new alien friend. "Of course! The gods welcome all of nature's children. You may sleep in the guest home."

That seemed to settle things. The rest of dinner was uneventful, but Jack couldn't help but be a bit nervous about Daniel's promise to participate in an unfamiliar ritual. Even if he thought he knew what the ritual was, he had no way of knowing how it had changed over the centuries. It made Jack's survival instinct itch, but he just couldn't figure out what was bothering him so.

Unable to enjoy the dinner, Jack remained at the table just long enough to avoid being completely rude, and then excused himself. With any luck, Jackson would take the hint and join him shortly so they could discuss this little ritual of his.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Wow! I didn't expect to get such a response so quickly, but I wanted to think all the lovely people who have visited my story. :) I hope you are finding it entertaining! For those of you who commented about your curiosity concerning the ritual, I hope that this satisfies. I must admit that I did not originally intend for the ritual to take up most of a whole chapter. But I figured I had better use more detail than I originally intended, if people were that curious! Finally, I have a warning for anyone who might be familiar with some of the terminology that I'm using... Yes, the people of this planet are vaguely inspired by real life Earth cultures. However, I have used very heavy artistic license. I've pretty much pulled stuff from the internet that has huge gaping holes, and filled in those holes with my imagination. That seems to be what they do with the original Stargate series, anyhow. I hope that no one is disappointed, thinking I was going to actually describe a ritual that they know of. _

_So, without further ado, on to the next chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter Two**

**He hoped and prayed that there wasn't an afterlife. Then he realized there was a contradiction involved here and merely hoped that there wasn't an afterlife. **

**-Douglas Adams-**

In the end, it turned out that O'Neill did not have as much cause to be nervous as he had previously thought. The ritual was fairly mundane by SG-1 standards. He had figured there would at least be some sort of animal sacrifice, but it turned out that the people of this planet were just as peaceful and vegetarian as they had presented themselves. The most violent thing that was planned was a bonfire. Something to do with the coming of the winter season. Jack wasn't really listening as Daniel explained it to him.

The next morning, when he found himself standing at one end of the village clearing, wearing the itchy, too-warm garb of the indigenous people, he began to think that maybe it would be better to listen to Daniel the next time he was trying to explain something.

"So they're going to put our names on one of the stones that will be circling the bonfire. They believe this will symbolically bring us closer to the spirit of their God, who is manifest in the fire as…"

On second thought, maybe listening to Jackson drone on wasn't such a hot idea, after all.

Instead, Jack watched the festive preparations for the day-long ceremony in which they were expected to take part, feigning an interest that he really didn't feel. When it became clear that Daniel wasn't going to stop droning on if he didn't speak up, Jack decided that this would probably be a very good time to interrupt. "So, Daniel…"

Whatever the young archeologist was going to say died on his lips as Jack spoke up. He had that lost, absent-minded professor look that Jack usually made fun of him for. "Yes, Jack?"

"Is there any part of this ceremony that I really need to know ahead of time?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows, taken aback by the question. For someone as bright as he seemed to be, he certainly could be slow. Jack sometimes suspected that the man had picked up on some of his own tricks and was being deliberately dense. "Well, define 'need'," the civilian finally requested.

"Well…Is there anything about this ceremony that would be painful, undignified, or which could be construed in any way as something I would refuse to participate in?"

"Actually…no. No, I don't think so."

The ensuing silence after Daniel's answer was something that Jack gloried in, and for one brief, shining moment he actually believed that Daniel might actually shut up for once.

"…But it really is fascinating how the purpose for the ritual has evolved since the original ritual back on Earth…"

Jack groaned out loud, but Daniel just kept talking. This had to be payback for denying Daniel the opportunity to study his precious artifacts.

* * *

That afternoon, Daniel glorified in his friendly vengeance on Jack. As far as he was concerned, Jack had it coming. After all, Daniel had won that sparring bout fair and square. If Jack was going to take something that silly and make it affect their work, Daniel had every right to exact his own revenge at the first opportunity.

Of course, not making sure that he knew what the cleansing ritual entailed was perhaps a bit cruel. Still, Daniel had thrown in a very detailed description in the middle of his boring lecture, including the part about the naked sauna. Was it his fault if Jack chose not to listen to him? Perhaps it would teach Jack a lesson.

Still, it could have been worse. Jack survived the sauna, though he shot quite a few irritated looks at Daniel. The archeologist wasn't afraid of him… He was probably the only one.

Daniel was feeling positively smug by the time they were led out of the sauna by another naked clan member. The open-minded archeologist wasn't particularly embarrassed by the ritual. After all, it was nothing compared to showers after gym class. Those guys played dirty…

Each of the male members of SG-1, along with the rest of the men filing out of the sauna, were handed a rough robe of some absorbent material. It wasn't as soft as his fluffy robe back home, but Daniel wasn't going to complain. A questioning look from Jack caused Daniel to bend a little, taking pity on the baffled colonel. "Next is the bonfire ceremony," he murmured. "Once we get back to the clearing, we must remain completely silent. We're supposed to be meditating on the divine properties of the gods…"

By the time Daniel had finished explaining, they had reached the clearing. To his credit, Jack actually seemed to be listening this time. Perhaps Daniel had taught him a lesson about ignoring the cultural expert in these situations.

As they filed toward the circle where the bonfire would be lit, the women filed in from the other end of the square. They were each clothed in white robes and veils so that it was impossible to tell them apart. One of those women would be Sam, but Daniel couldn't have pointed her out.

The men formed a loose circle around the fire, and Daniel and Jack followed suite, while the women formed a larger circle outside of the men's circle. The dead silence was eerie, even to Daniel, who fancied himself comfortable with all possible scenarios. It seemed as though even the wind and the birds had quieted down for this ceremony…

But that was ridiculous, of course. It was just a fluke. Before Daniel could put any further thought into it, the chief of the village silently walked to the center of the fire, carrying a large branch already alight with a flickering flame. Slowly, he knelt in the center of the pit, his knees getting smudged from the ashes of previous ceremonies, and to Daniel's amazement, simply buried one end of the branch in the ground, leaving the burning end sticking out of the ground like a massive candle wick.

The chief walked backward out of the circle, somehow managing to return exactly to the place he had left without so much as a glance over his shoulder. For a moment, Daniel was confused. This was the part of the ceremony that had been vague, even to him. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but from all accounts, they should be building a huge bonfire. He glanced to the side, only to find Jack looking at him, questioningly. Daniel just shrugged and shook his head a little, letting Jack know that he was just as puzzled, but that he didn't see any danger, so far.

By the time he looked back at the fire, he realized that he had missed something important. Four of the large stones demarking the edge of the fire pit were…glowing. There was no other way to describe it. It was as though they were alight with some sort of inner fire. He wasn't sure what it was, but it certainly wasn't some sort of technology created by these people.

Before he could comment, Daniel suddenly felt a tingling throughout his entire body. It was a sort of electric buzzing, and for a moment, he was reminded of firsthand accounts of what it felt like just before you were struck by lightning. Moments later, he had no room for thought as his vision were filled with a kind of iridescent golden light, and his mind was filled with warmth. It was exactly like the feeling he got standing in a warm spring breeze, with the sun on his hair and a good book in his hands. It was a comforting feeling, and a small part of him simply marveled, while another very small part wondered if this could be a sign that he had, indeed, been struck by lightning and was dying.

Before he could question it further, however, the light died, and after his dazzled eyes adjusted to the relatively dim evening, he realized that the tiny tree branch had somehow sparked a huge bonfire in the circle. He couldn't see where the tinder had come from, or even if there was any timber to feed the fire. Perhaps the very ashes had caught fire. Frankly, he was at a loss.

"Daniel…" He knew Jack was just about to ask him a bunch of questions he couldn't answer, but before he had a chance to try and come up with something to appease his superior officer, the population of the entire settlement broke into a sudden celebratory shout.

Daniel grinned apologetically at Jack, and rose his voice above the din. "This is the part where you celebrate the promise of protection from the gods for the coming winter," he explained, though he wasn't sure how much of his message got through. Jack was already being pulled into a spirited dance by a young blonde who had abandoned her veil. Daniel wasn't too keen on dancing, but before he could decline, a beautiful young lady with too much black hair for one woman grabbed him and pulled him into the dance.

He didn't even have time to question the unusual feelings he had experienced during the ceremony. By the end of the night, he decided that it must have been a trick of his mind. After all, he had always had an overactive imagination.

* * *

The only person who didn't thoroughly overindulge at the celebration, including SG-1, was Teal'c. To tell the truth, the silent Jaffa was somewhat concerned about the behavior of his team members. Colonel O'Neill had encouraged him to join in the celebration, but he seemed to be the only one who remembered that they were here on a mission.

He did not try to remind the Colonel of this, however. He was quite aware that he had no evidence of anything out of the ordinary. It just seemed suspicious that the other three members of SG-1 threw themselves so whole-heartedly into the festivities. It was out of character, so he stood back and watched the party rather than take part, with special attention for his team members.

Breakfast the next morning was a dazed, disoriented affair. Though all previous meals had been shared among the entire community, and timed to surprising accuracy considering the lack of time-keeping devices, the aftermath of the celebration had left the entire village in recovery mode. They were politely informed that breakfast would be an "every man for himself" affair, though Teal'c was easily able to procure sustenance for himself and the rest of his team.

The team gathered in the guest house for breakfast, more out of convenience than any real plan. Daniel Jackson looked dazed and was uncharacteristically quiet as he nibbled a bit of cheese and otherwise ignored his breakfast. Colonel O'Neill was his usual stoic self, but every comment that he did make had the hard edge of annoyance that Teal'c had learned to associate with the Colonel's usual hangover behavior. Only Sam seemed to be in a good mood, but even that was slightly uncharacteristic. She was even humming to herself quietly, until Colonel O'Neill snapped at her and startled the scientist into silence.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c finally spoke. The archeologist startled slightly at the sound of his name, and the Jaffa raised one eyebrow in a gesture of concern. The young man looked up at Teal'c with a droopy-eyed, glazed look that caused the Jaffa's concern to grow exponentially. "Are you well?" he asked, getting right to the point as was his habit.

"Hm?" For a moment, it seemed as though Daniel did not understand the question, but then he jumped back into himself and shook his head slightly, with a rueful smile. "Oh…Yes, Teal'c. I'm fine. I'm just not quite used to this much…celebration." The comment had a tone of dismissal to it, so Teal'c did not question him further. As Teal'c predicted, the younger man had soon sunk back into his reverie, staring at the bread on the table with a distant gaze.

"Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c tried again, turning his attention back to his commanding officer. "I am concerned that something unusual may have happened during the ceremony. Did you experience anything…out of the ordinary?"

Teal'c was slightly taken aback by the glare that the team leader leveled at him. However, he was a well-trained warrior, and the only physical sign he gave was a slight raising of his eyebrow as he waiting for an answer.

"The whole damned thing was unexpected if you ask me," O'Neill groused, with another glare for the archeologist, who seemed oblivious to it all.

Sam seemed to feel the need to speak up, though she couldn't quite wipe the smile from her face as she said, "Sir…He did try to tell you what to expect. I'm pretty sure you were tuning him out again."

In the next moment, the scientist's grin finally died as O'Neill turned on her with a snarl. "Wipe that smirk from your face, Major." Teal'c recognized the look in O'Neill's eyes. It was a rare breach of the Colonel's usual snaky front, but the uncharacteristic rage was unmistakable. The Colonel was about to snap, and Teal'c was not sure exactly how to respond, except to redirect the anger toward himself. After all, if O'Neill snapped and attacked the Jaffa, he was more capable of defending himself than the hung over scientist.

"Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c interrupted, raising his voice slightly beyond the volume he was accustomed to. He noted Daniel's wince, but was unapologetic as he continued, "I believe that something may be affecting your judgment…"

"I'll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself, Jaffa." As Colonel O'Neill spit out the words, Teal'c was convinced that his commanding officer was no longer in his right mind. And all the while, Sam continued to watch with that undying grin, as though she found the entire situation to be hilarious.

The Jaffa opened his mouth to say so, only to be cut off by a vague groan from the team archeologist.

As a unit, three members of the team turned their heads to look at Daniel, who was holding his head and looking at them with a vague sort of panic in his eyes. The glazed look that darted from one to the other in turns struck fear into the heart of the Jaffa as no other sight could. Seeing this expression in his friend's eyes even once was one time too many. His friend and teammate was not sane.

The panicked look in the archeologists eyes turned to mania in an instant, as his lips twisted into a wry smile, which slowly progressed to wild laughter. "You people! What shall I do with you? Small-minded, ignorant apes, all of you. I shouldn't be here. I should be…"

The archeologist trailed off, his mood abruptly shifting from hysteria to a distant, puzzled expression. "How odd…something…what…what…" Slowly, Daniel rose to his feet, and while the other two team members remained staring in shock, Teal'c slowly regained his own footing. Cautiously, Teal'c moved toward the linguist, trying to crouch down and make himself appear less threatening. He slowly bared his teeth in a grin, as he had been taught to do, but Daniel was not paying any attention to the well-meaning Jaffa. Sam would have been much more suited to calming the manic man, but she was too busy stifling a laugh with the back of her hand.

"Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c murmured through gritted teeth. "Perhaps it would be wise to return to the Stargate, immediately."

Before any of them could act on this suggestion, Daniel looked straight at Teal'c, wide-eyed and startled. "Bloody hell…" These were the last words Daniel spoke before his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed. The only thing that saved him from hitting the floor hard was Teal'c's lightning reflexes, as the Jaffa jumped forward to catch the falling archeologist.

Behind him, Sam's tinkling laughter sent a cold shiver down Teal'c's spine.

* * *

As Daniel collapsed to the ground, Jack felt his anger drain away to be replaced with the gut-wrenching fear he always experienced when he saw one of his team injured on his watch. It was as though there had been a fog clouding his mind, intensifying his emotions and clouding his judgment. The moment that Daniel collapsed, the fog cleared away, leaving Jack's mind crystal clear.

So much for his hangover. He would just have to get over it. "Daniel!" he heard himself call. Sam took a few moments to recover, her laughter dying away slowly to be replaced by a pale fear. She jumped forward to check Daniel's pulse, since she was the one with the most medical expertise. He could see a weaker reflection of his own inner anguish reflected in the scientist's pale face, but he could not and would not allow his own emotions to show.

"He's alive, sir," Sam said, her voice hardened with an edge of anxiety, in stark contrast to her earlier gaiety. Jack watched intently as she pulled out her flashlight and pulled up one of the linguist's eyelids to check for dilation, even as Teal'c was gently lowering the unconscious man to the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Jack heard himself bark.

"He's unconscious. No sign of trauma that I can see. He just…passed out."

Moments later, she could come to no better conclusion, and Jack ground his teeth with frustration. A curious crowd had gathered around the entrance of the guest house, but Teal'c had silently posted himself to block the entrance.

"Is it safe to move him?" Jack asked, still trying to keep his voice harsh and emotionless.

Sam looked up at him with obvious worry in her eyes. "No way to tell, sir. But frankly, I think our top priority should be to get him back to Janet. It could simply be fatigue, but I'd be more comfortable if Janet had a look at him."

"Right, then. Teal'c, grab Daniel. I'll grab Daniel's pack, Sam, you grab Teal'c's." Sam gave him a look of gratitude as she jumped to follow his orders. After all, Daniel always had his pack stuffed full of books. Teal'c was at least sensible enough to bring only the essentials.

"Teal'c, Sam…You two head back to the Stargate. I'm going to stop by to let the chief know what's going on. I'll catch up."

Moments later, the two were gone as Jack attempted to explain himself to Earth's newest headache. He wished he could risk offending these people by just walking out without explanation, but the resources on this planet were simply too valuable. "Look, we've got a man down. We'll be sending another team to finish the negotiations, but we can't stay."

"But you were chosen to be the vessels of the gods!" Chief Earl's eyes were wide and innocent, and Jack found it very difficult not to roll his eyes.

"Yes, of course. We're honored. And as soon as we figure out what's wrong with Danny-boy…I mean, Daniel…We'll be back to…do our duty. Whatever that is. But we've got to look out for our own."

"You don't understand. He will not recover on his own. He must submit to the will of the gods! The gods will be angered if you leave this place, and you will know only heartache and trouble."

Jack made a quick appraisal of the man before him, trying to judge if Daniel's condition could be something that was knowingly caused by the chief. In the end, his gut told him to trust the open-faced honesty that he saw, and he reached out to pat the man on the shoulder. "Look. We'll be back. I've got to catch up with my team before they reach the gate." And he turned to trot away.

He could hear Chief Earl calling after him from the village, speaking of curses and a bunch of other voodoo that Jack didn't understand. The man seemed concerned for his own religious reasons, but at least he didn't seem to be offended by their sudden departure.

Jack ignored the shouts chasing him down the trail and walked on.

* * *


End file.
